Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used for the treatment of cancer

Abstract:

The global burden of cancer continues to increase in both developed and developing countries. This is largely attributed to a growing aged population as both the numbers of people and life expectancies increase. Another important factor is the adoption of lifestyles that increase the risk of developing cancer (Jemal et al., 2011). Lifestyle choices, such as smoking tobacco, consuming alcohol, being physically inactive and eating unhealthily, contribute to the upsurge in cancer cases. Siegel, Naishadham and Jemal (2012) estimated that about 1,638,910 new incidences of cancer and about 577,190 deaths due to cancer occurred worldwide in 2012. They further estimated that 56% of the cancer cases and 64% of cancer-related deaths occurred in developing countries (Jemal et al., 2011), indicating that the developing world is gradually having to shoulder more of the burden and where
cancer survival rates tend to be lower.